"They were out to get me," says Rambau

According to former regional magistrate Ronnie Rambau, there was a malicious intent behind the motives that led to his arrest on corruption charges.

This is what the evidence that Rambau’s witnesses brought to the Musina Magistrate’s court on Tuesday, 14 November, boiled down to.

Rambau stands accused of accepting a bribe to influence a court case. He appeared together with his co-accused, ex-prosecutor prosecutor Estene Willemse and attorney Tivoneleni Edmond Lubisi. They face charges of corruption and conspiracy to commit corruption. They were arrested during a police trap in February 2010. The three are also accused of receiving bribes in murder and rape cases.

During his last court appearance, Rambau said that the money, which was confiscated when he was arrested, was cash that he had received earlier in the day when he sold a car to someone. Rambau brought the buyer to testify about this in court, but under cross examination the witness could neither produce any proof that such a sale took place, nor could he proof that he took possession of the vehicle by having it registered in his name.

Following this, Rambau asked the court for another postponement as there was one more witness that he wanted to call to testify. This witness, Rambau indicated to court, will come and tell the court about alleged agents within the South African Police and National Prosecuting Authority who plotted to have him arrested on bogus charges.

The court, however, said that Rambau had ample time to state his case and granted the State’s application to close their case. The court postponed the case until 28 and 29 March next year to afford both parties time to complete their heads of argument. In Rambau’s case he must argue why he should not be found guilty on the charges.

If Rambau, however, can get a final witness to testify before then, the court indicated that it will be willing to hear the evidence.

Isabel Venter

Isabel joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in 2009 as a reporter. She holds a BA Degree in Communication Sciences from the University of South Africa. Her beat is mainly crime and court reporting.

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